Damage may occur to a property under a number of circumstances. For example, acts of nature such as inclement weather, animals, and/or human-involved accidents may cause structural damage to a property and thus require restorative repairs. Roofing and/or canopy structures provide essential protection and security to a property, and accordingly, their upkeep is of particular importance to maintain the appropriate quality of the underlying structure.
In the event that property damage occurs, inspectors are tasked with assessing the extent of the damage to determine appropriate payments to be made to the property owner to complete repairs. Generally speaking, inspectors must obtain measurements and images of damage (e.g., the size of the damaged area, the quantity of damaged structures, and the like) as well as other relevant environmental information to properly assess suitable payments. In the event of roof damage, the assessor may need to climb onto the roof to measure the damage and other roof features such as the slope and materials used. This process may be time-consuming, costly, and potentially dangerous to the inspector depending on the complexity and uniqueness of the roof and/or the property. The inspector may also need to use specialized equipment to measure various characteristics of the damaged property. Alternatively, measurements can be purchased from third parties. Depending on the complexity of the structure, the measurements may be exceedingly costly.
The measurements and images are then manually input into a tool that generates an estimate. If the images are improperly identified, the tool may not be able to provide an estimate, or alternatively, provide an inaccurate estimate.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.